10 Most Common Garage Door Repairs (And How They’re Fixed!)
Having a garage is a luxury. While common in the United States, they signify enormous wealth in many other countries. Modern garage doors in America are packed with features that keep families safe and make coming and coming to a breeze.
However, residential and commercial garage doors aren’t free from mechanical and technical issues. They require regular upkeep to keep them in good shape, so they’re safe for homeowners, employees, and whoever else uses them.
Garage door maintenance typically prevents doors from stopping completely. Usually, early garage door repairs avoid expensive emergencies that cause stress and throw a wrench in your daily schedule.
Whether you’re a new homeowner or wondering what you’ll likely encounter with your garage, knowing the common repairs we see most often can help you know when to call for professional service before small issues become significant problems.
Here are 10 of the most common garage door repairs and how our technicians fix them.
1. Broken Springs
Garage doors use torsion or extension springs to lift and lower the heavy doors. These springs are incredibly durable, but they don’t last forever.
When coils loosen, it affects the performance of your garage door. You may notice your door opening or closing with jerks and halts. It may also appear unsteady when it moves.
In addition, your garage door will stop working altogether when a torsion spring breaks. Be careful! If you wait too long to replace your springs, they can snap and send the door crashing down on anyone in the area.
If you’re worried about garage door spring replacement, call a professional service to check the condition of your extension springs.
2.Creaking Noises
Have you ever heard a garage door that makes loud squeaks and creaks every time it opens or closes? Noisy garage doors are a major pain! However, noise can also point to more significant concerns like bad springs, issues with roller tracks, and balance concerns.
The challenge with noises is that some of them are minor. For example, there are plenty of garage doors out there that make noise but don’t need mechanical repairs. But there are also many doors that need professional service.
Noises can come from things like:
● Rust
● Broken Springs
● Loose Garage Door Chains
● Worn Rollers
● Alignment issues
If your door is making noises, get a professional to come to check things out. It’s better to have peace of mind knowing your garage door is in good condition than worry about an impending emergency repair.
3. Balance & Alignment Issues
Your garage door runs on rollers that sit on tracks. If something’s blocking the track or making one roller move slower than the other, it will imbalance your garage door.
The main problem with balance and alignment issues is that they worsen over time. With so much stress on one side or the other, the problem grows the longer you put off repairs.
Rust is one of the leading causes of alignment problems in garage doors. The rust gets in the roller’s way every time it moves along the tracks. A garage door service can remove rust or replace track sections to prevent one side from moving more slowly than the other.
Again, springs may also be the culprit. For example, if one spring has loose coils, it won’t hold tension as well, which can cause one side of your garage door to sag.
4. Electrical Issues
Several things can stop your garage door from working. However, electrical problems like blown fuses or even simpler things like dead batteries can get in the way of garage door performance.
Check whether the fuse is turned on if your door doesn’t close or open. In addition, make sure the batteries in your remotes are good.
Once you’ve cleared those hurdles, you may have problems with your opener.
Many of our clients are surprised when they think they have a dead door but discover that remote batteries are the culprit. Before you call for a technician, check your batteries and fuse box to save yourself time!
5. Sensor Problems
Modern garage doors often run on a network of sensors that keep your cars and people safe. If something triggers the sensor, the door stops moving or will return to its open position. Better safe than sorry, of course!
However, trouble with sensors is one of the most common garage door repairs. They either stop working, or something’s blocking them.
You must ensure that the sensors are clear for your garage door to operate smoothly. If something like a bike or a box is in the way, it can stop your door from moving.
It’s easy to feel frustrated when your garage door won’t close. No one wants to go on vacation or leave for work knowing their home is wide open.
It’s always a good idea to know where your sensors are. First, check to see that nothing’s blocking them. Then, once that’s cleared, you should call a technician about possible replacements for dead sensors.
6. Slow Garage Doors
Remember how fast your new garage door moved when you first installed it? It opened and closed like butter and barely made a peep!
Unfortunately, garage doors start to slow from regular wear and tear. For several years, it’s barely noticeable. However, eventually, it will become a significant enough issue for professional repairs.
Slow garage doors are caused by:
● Rust
● Lack of Lubrication
● Debris on the Tracks
These are just some reasons why your door may be moving slowly.
A good cleaning and adding lubrication to your rollers and the tracks will do the trick. Garage door technicians use special tools to reach all those spots that are hard to reach. Ideally, cleaning should happen once a year or more to keep your garage door moving at normal speeds for longer.
7. Old Garage Door Openers
Problems with your garage may be due to an old opener that has finally had its time. Garage door openers are very durable. They often last for decades. However, they eventually run into mechanical issues, and your door will stop working well.
Garage door opener repairs are very common. But, at some point, repairs happen too often or start costing almost as much as a new opener. When that happens, it’s time for a replacement.
Choosing and installing the right opener is crucial to your garage door performance. Hiring a reliable garage door repair service is best because they’ll guide you and help you make the best choice.
They’ll also help you get the most out of your new opener, including smart technology and other features that require configuration.
8. Worn Rollers
We’ve mentioned rollers several times in the list, but sometimes they are the root of the problem with your garage door.
Replacing garage door rollers is one of the most common repairs.
When a roller stops working, it makes your garage door rattle and affects how it opens and closes. These rubber wheels keep your garage door on the track and moving up and down.
Rusted or old rollers bump along the track, cause halting movements, and make noise.
If you think your rollers are the culprit, spray them with a regular lubricant that you can buy in any home improvement store. Then, give them a good dousing to make sure they can make it all the way to the end of the track.
Also, most manufacturers specify how long their rollers last. You can get ahead of repairs by remembering when you should replace the rollers.
9. Loose Bolts
Believe it or not, loose bolts are some of the most common garage door repairs we see. Heavy garage doors and frequent movement can slowly shake bolts and nuts free.
This, of course, can make your garage door shake when it opens or closes. It also makes rattling noises, especially when the roller passes through.
You might think fixing loose bolts is easy enough, which is true if you know where to look. But unfortunately, garage doors are full of nuts and bolts, often in places that are hard to reach.
Technicians usually check for loose connections whenever they service a garage door. Call your local garage door company if you’re hearing strange noises and don’t know where they’re coming from.
10. Keypad Problems
The final common garage door repair on our list involves garage door keypads. Keypads are an essential component of any door. They provide security to your home or property and get you inside when you forget your remote.
Sometimes, keypads encounter syncing errors that keep them from closing or opening the door.
Refer to the manual when you start having problems with your keypad. You may have to reset it and program it again. Also, some keypads run on batteries, so check that you haven’t run out of juice.
If you have problems you can’t solve, you can ask for professional support or contact the manufacturer for more information.
Summary
Hopefully, this list helped you learn more about the most common garage door repairs and how to handle them. Of course, the best thing you can do is keep your garage door serviced properly to avoid problems with rollers, springs, bolts, or anything else.
